COLLECTOR SUBMISSIONS

​If you are a collector who would like to offer works of art from your collection to the museum, please follow the guidelines below.

Please provide us with as much information as possible about the work, including artist, date, medium, size, and provenance information (history of ownership).

Please include an image of the work of art (or multiple images, if offering multiple works).

Please state explicitly if you are offering these works for
loan (temporarily sharing them with the museum for display), for
sale (please include your asking price and date by which you need a decision), or for
donation.

The process of reviewing your images may take several weeks. It may not be possible to reply to every submission.

We cannot make studio visits, see the work in person, or make visits to private collections during the initial phase of the review. If there is sufficient interest from a curator, we will contact you about any further steps.

ARTIST SUBMISSIONS

Administered by the Seattle Art Museum, the annual Betty Bowen Award honors a Northwest artist for their original, exceptional, and compelling work. The winner is awarded an unrestricted cash prize of $15,000, and a selection of his or her works is shown at the Seattle Art Museum in the spring of 2018. In addition, up to two Special Recognition Awards in the amount of $2,500 are often granted at the discretion of the Betty Bowen Committee.

Betty Bowen (1918–1977) was a Washington native and enthusiastic supporter of Northwest artists. Her friends established the annual Betty Bowen Award as a celebration of her life and to honor and continue her efforts to provide financial support to the artists of the region. Since 1977, the Seattle Art Museum has hosted the yearly grant application process by which the Betty Bowen Committee chooses one visual artist working in the Northwest to receive the unrestricted cash award.

Who is eligible for the award?

The award is open to visual artists in all media working in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho. Artists of diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

How is the winner selected?

The winner is selected in a two-part jury process. In the first round, the applicants are reviewed anonymously. Five finalists are selected from the pool of applicants. Finalists are then invited to present their work to the committee in person in the second round and will receive an honorarium of $500 for related expenses. After this review process, the committee selects one award winner in addition to any special recognition award winners they wish to honor.

Selection is based on, but not limited to, the following criteria:

The compelling nature of the artist’s ideas and contribution to the field

The quality and creativity of the work submitted for review

The artist’s commitment to developing their work

The impact the award will have on the artist and his/her career

How do I apply?

The application is available at
callforentry.org. There is a $10 application fee. All entries must be submitted online.
Entries sent by standard mail will not be accepted. Artists working in film or video are required to upload six film stills with your online application and send no more than 3 video files via Dropbox or Vimeo links. Artists are encouraged to submit their most recent body of work.

When is the application due?

The deadline for submission every year is
August 1. All applicants will be notified of the committee’s decisions by late September.

2017 BETTY BOWEN AWARD WINNER

The 2017 Betty Bowen Award winner is Seattle artist
Jono Vaughan. Jono Vaughan’s ongoing series
Project 42 is named for the short life expectancy of transgender individuals in the United States. The project, begun in 2012, aims to raise awareness of a persistent pattern of extreme violence against trans people by commemorating 42 murdered individuals. For each work in the series, the artist designs a garment that begins with an image of a murder location, which is then digitally manipulated to create an abstract textile print. The garment is then worn by a collaborator in performance, as a form of memorialization and celebration of the victim. Vaughan hopes this accessible approach will provide an opportunity for public engagement and discussion.

In addition, two other artists were recognized by the committee for their compelling work. Seattle-based artist
Deborah Lawrence was selected to receive the Special Recognition Award in the amount of $2,500, and Seattle-based artist
Ko Kirk Yamahira was awarded the Kayla Skinner Special Recognition Award in the amount of $2,500.

Deborah Lawrence uses the medium of collage to analyze, categorize, and make meaning. She confronts and comments on social, emotional, historical, and current events through the process of cutting, manipulating, and composing found information. Her appropriation and recontextualization of found images and other materials, including maps and flags, points to a tradition of politically engaged collage, while satirically and incisively addressing contemporary concerns.

Formally, Ko Kirk Yamahira’s work traverses the boundaries between painting and sculpture, composition and decomposition. Interested in notions of self that encompass diverse and contradictory elements, his recent deconstructed canvases aim to visually articulate these themes in abstract terms.

Finalists for the 2017 award were
Tannaz Farsi and
Klara Glosova.

Past Winners

2017

Jono Vaughan, Grand Prize

2017

Ko Kirk Yamahira, Kayla Skinner Special Recognition Award

2017

Deborah Lawrence, Special Recognition Award

2016

Wendy Red Star, Grand Prize

2016

Mark Mitchell, Kayla Skinner Special Recognition Award

2016

Dawn Cerny, Special Recognition Award

2015

Jack Daws, Grand Prize

2015

Lou Watson, Kayla Skinner Special Recognition Award

2015

Eirik Johnson, Special Recognition Award

2014

​Ralph Pugay, Grand Prize

2014

Klara Glosova, Kayla Skinner Special Recognition Award

2014

Gretchen Frances Bennett, Special Recognition Award

2013

​Leo Berk, Grand Prize

2013

Sol Hashemi, Kayla Skinner Special Recognition Award

2013

​Jack Daws, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2012

​Sarah Bergmann, Grand Prize

2011

Jenny Heishman, Grand Prize

2011

SuttonBeresCuller, Kayla Skinner Special Recognition Award

2011

Lisa Liedgren, PONCHO Special Recognition Award​

2010

Ellen Lesperance, Grand Prize

2010

Barbara Sternberger, Kayla Skinner Special Recognition Award

2010

Eli Hansen, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2009

Josh Faught, Grand Prize

2009

Matt Offenbacher, Kayla Skinner Special Recognition Award

2009

Jenny Heishman, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2008

Isaac Layman, Grand Prize

2008

Eric Elliott, Kayla Skinner Special Recognition Award

2008

Wynne Greenwood, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2007

Oscar Tuazon, Grand Prize

2007

Joseph Park, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2007

Vanessa Renwick, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2006

Margie Livingston, Grand Prize

2006

Emily Gh​erard, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2006

Mary Simpson, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2005

Marie Watt, Grand Prize

2005

Evan Blackwell, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2005

David Russo, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2004

Victoria Haven, Grand Prize

2004

Timothy Foss, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2003

Dan Webb, Grand Prize

2003

Rachel Moore, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2002

Ross Palmer Beecher, Grand Prize

2002

Buster Simpson​, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2002

Michael Rathbun, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2001

Brian Murphy, Grand Prize

2001

Hildur Bjarnadottir, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2001

Jaq Chartier, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2000

Iole Alessandrini, Grand Prize

2000

Eric Bashor, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2000

Lauren Grossman, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

2000

Victoria Haven, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1999

Ford Gilbreath, Grand Prize

1999

Jennifer Dixon, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1998

Michael Howard, Grand Prize

1998

Erik Geschke, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1998

Kevin Kadar, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1997

Cathy McClure, Grand Prize

1997

David K. Chatt, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1997

Mary K. Guth, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1997

Robert M. Plogman, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1996

Henry DePosit, Grand Prize

1996

Daniel Mihalyo, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1996

Jeffrey Simmons, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1996

Robert Yoder, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1995

Lanny Bergner, Grand Prize

1995

Michael Knutsen, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1995

Dan Webb, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1995

Kumi Yamashita, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1994

Collin Shutz, Grand Prize

1994

Judy Allen, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1994

Erick Stotik, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1993

Ingrid Lahti, Grand Prize

1993

Pamela Gazale, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1993

Josiah McElheny, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1992

Amanda Fin, Grand Prize

1992

Luke Blackstone, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1991

Mark Fuller, Grand Prize

1991

James Lavadour, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1990

Cris Bruch, Grand Prize

1990

Rick Bartow, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1990

Margi Beyers, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1990

Claudia Fitch, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1989

Ken Kelly, Grand Prize

1989

Steven​ Engle, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1989

Mark Fuller, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1989

Shelley Moore, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1988

Nancy Mee, Grand Prize

1988

Jack Chevalier, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1988

Alfred Harris, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1988

Barbara Noah, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1987

George Chacona, Grand Prize

1987

Gayle Bard, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1987

Susan Bennerstrom, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1987

Peter Millett, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1987

Ed Musante, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1987

Selene Santucci, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1986

Mark Calderon, Grand Prize

1985

Debra Sherwood, Grand Prize

1984

Randy Hayes, Grand Prize

1983

Norie Sato, Grand Prize

1982

Jeffrey Bishop, Grand Prize

1981

Joan Stuart Ross, Grand Prize

1980

Joseph Goldberg, Grand Prize

1980

Leo Kenney, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1980

Charles Stokes, PONCHO Special Recognition Award

1979

Charles Stokes, Grand Prize​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Learn More

For more information about the Betty Bowen Award, please
email us or call 206.654.3131.​​​​

The Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Prize was created by artist Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence to provide inspiration for young artists and scholarship in the field of art history, especially as it pertains to the artistic and cultural life of black artists, both of which were important to Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence. Funding is provided by the Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Endowment. In selecting artists to receive the prize​, emphasis is placed on individuals whose original work reflects the Lawrences' concern for artistic excellence, education, mentorship,​ and scholarship within the cultural contexts and value systems that informed their work and the work of other artists of color. The Seattle Art Museum’s Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Prize is awarded biannually to an early career black (not necessarily African American) artist—an individual who has been producing work for less than 10 years. The selected artist is honored with a one-person exhibition in SAM’s Gwendolyn Knight & Jacob Lawrence Gallery and receives a $10,000 award to further his or her artistic practice. ​​